The rand was on the back foot in morning trade on Wednesday , as it drifted towards R18.00 to the dollar ahead of a slew of data both locally and internationally.
The Chinese yuan slipped to a fresh two-year low, as Chinese economic woes weigh on the currency. Meanwhile, a broad sell-off of equities continued overnight, with Wall Street taking a 1.13% dive, while US Treasury yields reached 15-year highs, Botes said. The most severe blackouts in South Africa’s history are also putting pressure on the local currency and has left the government struggling for ways to mitigate their impact on businesses and livelihoods, Bloomberg reported.
Similarly, MTN Group has deployed more than 2,000 generators and thousands of batteries to keep its customers connected, but the current severity of the power cuts made charging them a challenge, it said.Africa’s three biggest economies – Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt – are poised to raise interest rates this week, while policymakers in several other countries stake out different approaches to navigate inflation shocks and bring prices under control.